N4T Investigators: Law enforcement on gang alert

Tucson - The recent assassinations of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge have had law enforcement on alert.

Now, the alert is heightened.

The FBI has issued a bulletin to law enforcement nationwide. It's a warning that a gang called the "Black Guerilla Family" which uses this logo, has reportedly threatened to kill white police and corrections officers this month, what the gang is calling "Black August."

Pima County Jail Corrections Capt. Sean Stewart said, “Any threat that’s made or is out there needs to be taken seriously.”

Stewart took the News 4 Tucson Investigators into the section of the Pima County Jail that's segregated for gang members. He says 44 gang members are currently locked-up. Stewart, considered an expert on gang activity, says the Black Guerillas Family is more prevalent in California than Arizona.

Stewart says, “I'm more worried about some of our street or prison gangs hearing about it and wanting to copy it, and create their own Black August.”

According to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, the Black Guerilla Family was founded in the California prison system in 1966 by a former Black Panther member.

Once called the Black Mafia, the gang is now known as BGF. Their death oath requires a lifetime of loyalty. Enemies are the Aryan Brotherhood, the Mexican Mafia, and Texas Syndicates.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos says, “It is a threat. It’s a threat from a bunch of prison thugs. We've taken the appropriate, necessary actions to alert our staff of the threat, but other than that, you still have to do your job.”

Captain Stewart says, “The best thing you can do is just train your staff, to realize that this is out there. You need to protect yourself, you need to guard your own safety, you need to guard your family's safety.

The FBI declined comment, but did confirm in an email that a bulletin was issued nationwide. Tucson Police declined our interview request, but a spokesman said all officers are being warned about the threat from the Black Guerilla Family gang.

If you have a story you'd like us to investigate, email us at investigators@kvoa.com, or call our tip line at 520-955-4444.